Why It’s Time to Upgrade Your Dust System

I’d like to open this article with two important confessions. First, I’ll confess to having no formal qualifications in dust extraction or ducting design. Whilst I love my woodwork, I have little interest in the formalities of friction losses in ductwork and fan static pressures. So this is an account of my own personal journey in dust extraction shared in the hope that it may provoke thought about your own situation. Thoughts that I hope may have you questioning the adequacy of your own extraction systems as I did when I embarked on this journey a few years ago.

So why is this important? While effective dust extraction techniques are endlessly debated, there is one constant on which the science is aligned. That is the health risk presented by ongoing exposure to fine wood dust. Many of us woodworkers work to self imposed health standards not recognising that the risks of exposure to fine dust increases over time. The recent publicising of silicosis exposure to those working in the stonemasonry and